GAO urges automatic body camera activation for ICE officers; DHS rejects that recommendation

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stop leaving body camera activation entirely to officers' discretion and adopt automatic recording controls. The Department of Homeland Security rejected that proposal, according to a report published Wednesday by the Nebraska Examiner and carried by several other outlets.

The GAO report found that ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection both need stronger oversight and clearer guidance on how immigration officers use body-worn cameras. Under ICE's current policy, officers decide when to switch their cameras on by hand.

CBP already uses automatic activation, the outlets reported. Its cameras begin recording when an officer draws a weapon or when emergency lights are turned on.

GAO issued seven recommendations to DHS, which oversees both agencies. The department accepted six but declined the automatic activation measure, saying ICE's existing approach is adequate. In its reply, DHS said automatic recording could jeopardize ongoing operations by capturing confidential exchanges with informants or victims or by unintentionally filming bystanders.

GAO found that answer lacking, according to the reports. The watchdog said DHS did not identify settings where automatic activation might work or describe other safeguards to make sure officers turn on cameras when policy requires. GAO warned that without dependable controls, ICE could face gaps in video evidence that would complicate reviews of incidents.

Investigators also reported that most CBP and ICE offices have not written specific operating guidance explaining when personnel should or should not use cameras in their particular circumstances. GAO said that gap raises the chance that officers will not use the devices as required.

According to the report, ICE had distributed 4,800 body cameras as of April, divided equally between Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations. CBP had issued roughly 11,500 cameras as of June, most of them to Border Patrol.

DHS agreed that ICE and CBP leaders should update their camera programs to reflect changing requirements and costs, plan for contingencies based on current risks, set goals to measure the program's effectiveness, and ensure subordinate offices receive guidance on proper camera use.

The report follows several high-profile fatal shootings by federal immigration officers, which led to calls for wider use of body cameras. The outlets reported that after immigration officers killed two U.S. citizens in January during a deportation operation in Minneapolis, the Trump administration directed that immigration agents be equipped with body cameras.

In June, two killings of immigrants in close succession, one in Texas and one in Maine, led border czar Tom Homan to announce that at least one ICE officer would wear a body camera during traffic stops, according to the reports. Democrats have pressed for body cameras on all federal immigration officers.

Compiled by True News from reporting by Nebraska Examiner, Wisconsin Examiner, North Dakota Monitor and Alaska Beacon. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/141